Country for PR: United Kingdom
Contributor: PR Newswire Europe
Friday, May 01 2020 - 17:00
AsiaNet
Intertek Launches Protek – The World's First Health, Safety and Wellbeing Assurance Programme for People, Workplaces and Public Spaces
LONDON, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

Health, Safety and Wellbeing in the workplace, in public transportation, public 
spaces and at home is now the number one concern for business leaders, 
employees and consumers*

Given its unrivalled expertise in Total Quality Assurance, operating in 100+ 
countries, with 1000+ labs and 46,000 Experts, Intertek is uniquely positioned 
to provide its clients with end-to-end Health, Safety and Wellbeing Assurance 
to protect their employees and their customers 

Intertek Protek is the world's first industry-agnostic, end-to-end Health, 
Safety and Wellbeing Assurance programme for people, workplaces and public 
spaces, and includes:

 - State of the art training and certification programmes for employees, 
reflecting learnings from the current pandemic

 - Audit of hygiene and sanitation processes and systems to ensure spaces, 
materials and surfaces are safe for employees and customers in the workplace 
and public spaces

 - Total Assurance for all types of facilities, from hotels, restaurants and 
retail outlets where consumers will look for visible signs of safety 
verification at the places in which they stay or pass through, to schools and 
education sites, transportation hubs and manufacturing plants 

Watch our video here: www.intertek.com/protek

Over the years and as part of its systemic approach to Total Quality Assurance 
(TQA), Intertek has been researching and developing innovative Health, Safety 
and Wellbeing solutions for its clients. Covid-19 has magnified the increased 
focus from all stakeholders on Health, Safety and Wellbeing in workplaces and 
in public spaces and, given the Company's industry-leading subject-matter 
expertise, it is now launching the world's first end-to-end solution in this 
category.

As the world adjusts to a 'new normal', many in-quarantine traits will become 
generally accepted standards as consumers and employees fundamentally re-think 
their approach to everyday health, safety and wellbeing. Whether at work, 
shopping, eating out or using public transport, people will look to 
corporations and brands for trust, assurance and peace of mind*

As companies prepare for a return to work, employees are concerned about their 
health and safety* and as consumers think about returning to visit public 
spaces, they are now increasingly looking to brands to provide trust and 
visible reassurance*. 

Recent Intertek research shows that people do not feel safe returning to their 
workplace once restrictions have been lifted with over 70% not wanting to 
return unless authenticated health and safety practices are in place. Moreover, 
91% of respondents agree that their employer should take extra measures to 
protect employees. Yet just over half (54%) of managers believe that they will 
struggle to provide an acceptable health and safety standard for employees when 
they do return to the workplace. 

Across the consumer industries landscape, only 24% of respondents feel 
confident about visiting a bar or restaurant once restrictions are lifted and 
only 27% feel confident about visiting hotels. 56% do not trust cinema and 
theatre operators to have sufficient health and safety practices in place to 
prevent the spread of Covid-19, with this figure rising to 57% for airlines and 
59% for public transport. At the same time, 84% of consumers now expect larger 
companies to contribute more to society and to have a social purpose.

Based on Intertek's unique, systemic approach to quality assurance, Protek is a 
comprehensive service offering, providing audits, training and service 
solutions across People, Systems & Processes, Facilities, Materials & Surfaces 
and Products. A key part of this innovative new service offering is Protek 
People Assurance, which will provide an on-demand, e-Learning and certification 
programme that empowers companies to deliver essential employee training on key 
health and safety topics.  

Protek provides audits, training and occupational health & safety solutions for 
companies wishing to provide peace of mind for their employees. Specific 
learning and certification solutions range from Covid-19 related programmes to 
modules on how to use face masks, gloves and PPE, and courses on food safety, 
hygiene, cleaning and prevention of the spread of infection. 

The programme provides systemic risk-based quality assurance and verification 
for all sectors, from food safety and hygiene control services to dedicated 
audit solutions for the prevention of the spread of infection in all facilities 
and all sectors. This includes hotels, restaurants and retail outlets where 
consumers will look for visible safety verification of the places in which they 
stay or pass through. Protek offers turnkey solutions, from facility health 
assessment, cleaning and disinfecting process oversight and post-cleaning 
verification, to compliance reporting and certification across schools and 
education sites, transportation hubs and manufacturing plants.  

Protek helps businesses obtain independent assurance that they are fulfilling 
their duty of care and provides their employees and customers with the 
confidence they need, everywhere, every day.  

With over 46,000 TQA experts in over one hundred countries, Intertek is 
uniquely placed to give businesses the reassurance of a global solution with 
unrivalled local knowledge and expertise. No other company has the network, 
tools and processes to deliver Total Health, Safety and Wellbeing solutions to 
help people feel safe to return to work, to travel, to eat out and to adjust to 
the new normal.

André Lacroix, CEO of Intertek, said: 

"On behalf of everyone at Intertek, I salute healthcare and frontline workers 
around the world for their magnificent response to the challenge presented by 
the global pandemic we are witnessing.  At Intertek, it is our duty to help 
corporations to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees in 
the workplace and their consumers in public spaces.

Indeed, as a purpose-led company, Intertek's mission is to make the world a 
better and safer place. Never has our core purpose been more relevant than now. 
This is the moment where our mission-critical role in society truly comes to 
life, across all sectors and all business lines as we bring solutions the world 
needs now, everywhere, every day.

It is clear that health, safety and wellbeing for employees returning to their 
workplaces through to consumers returning to public spaces - and the public 
transport used to get there - is now the greatest concern for the entire world. 

Building on our leading Quality Assurance expertise across all sectors of the 
economy globally, Protek offers our clients the world's first independent 
Health, Safety and Wellbeing Assurance programme for people, workplaces and 
public spaces."

About the Research:

This research was conducted online by an independent research consultant 
company from 29 – 30 April 2020 with n=2,201 respondents, representative of the 
UK adult general population (aged 18+ years old). Respondents were weighted in 
terms of age, gender, location and voting behaviour to reflect the known UK 
general population.

Intertek is a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide. 

Our network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices and over 46,000 people 
in more than 100 countries, delivers innovative and bespoke Assurance, Testing, 
Inspection and Certification solutions for our customers' operations and supply 
chains.

Intertek Total Quality Assurance expertise, delivered consistently, with 
precision, pace and passion, enabling our customers to power ahead safely.

www.intertek.com

*Intertek research April 2020

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1162691/Intertek_Logo.jpg 

Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Denis Moreau, Investor Relations 
Telephone: +44 (0) 20-7396-3415    
investor@intertek.com 

Jonathon Brill, FTI Consulting
Telephone: +44 (0) 20-3727-1000    
SCintertek@fticonsulting.com  

Source: Intertek Group PLC